India is embracing a new trend, modernizing its cooking through Michelin-star dining, molecular gastronomy, or mixing Western techniques and dishes with Indian ingredients. I suppose I am no different in my culinary curiosity: I love mixing and matching my Eastern and Western culinary influences and, when I get an idea, I need to pursue it to a conclusion. This dish is the result of that exploration… with a very happy result. Green mangoes are unripe and have a lovely fresh acidity – less sharp than lemon and slightly fruitier. This recipe is in the tradition of the classic French tarts that I love so much, with the added bonus of the health properties of this fruit, so dessert is not all bad! This will not be as smooth as a classic lemon tart, as the mango has some texture, and it will also be lighter as the filling is as much green mango as it is cream.

Ingredients

Quantity

Ingredient

For the pastry

Quantity

Ingredient

120g

unsalted butter, at room temperature

75g

icing sugar, sifted, plus more to serve

2

egg yolks, plus 1 egg white

250g

plain flour

good pinch

salt

For the filling

Quantity

Ingredient

400-450g

whole green mangoes, (if they are small, use the higher amount as there is more wastage)

2

large eggs

180g

sugar

30g

unsalted butter, melted

220ml

double cream

creme fraiche, to serve (optional)

Method

Start with the pastry. In a large bowl, or using a food mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light, pale and creamy. Add the 2 egg yolks and stir well to mix them in. Add the flour and salt and rub into the mixture with your fingers, as you would with a crumble. Once the texture is sandy and crumbly, add 1 tbsp water and bring together into a ball with your hands. If it does not come together, add another 1 tbsp water. Make sure the pastry isn’t too crumbly; the heat from your hands will help it come together but do not over-work it, or it will be tough. Form it into a ball, wrap in cling film, pat into a large disc and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Once the dough has chilled, roll it out (still on the cling film) as evenly as possible into a round about 3mm thick. Using the cling film, transfer to a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin and place inside, gently pushing the corners in the tin so that it fits completely and comes up the sides. Cut off the excess pastry by rolling the pin over the tin. Prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork, line with foil and fill with baking beans, dried beans, or raw rice. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes, and preheat the oven to 160°C.

Bake for 12 minutes, then carefully lift out the foil and beans and bake for a further 20–25 minutes or until it is a lovely golden colour.

Peel the mangoes and cut the flesh away from the stone. You need about 220g flesh – please weigh it. Blend it with the eggs, sugar, melted butter and cream until smooth. Strain about a quarter of it and remove the fibres of the mango left in the sieve (don’t take them all out as they add texture). Skim off any bubbles from the surface.

Brush the inside of the pastry with some of the reserved egg white and place back in the oven for 1 minute. Now reduce the oven temperature to 120°C. Fill the tart with the filling and gently place in the oven, or fill while it is on the shelf already. Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until just set on the surface, with a slight skin. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Once cool, place in the fridge for 2 hours. Dredge with icing sugar and serve as is, or with crème fraîche.